Art nouveau e a integração tecnológica na estética do modernismo: Émile Gallé de 1889 a 1904

Abstract

In the French fin-de-siècle context, the work of Émile Gallé (1846-1904) contributes to the debate regarding the new role of art in the modern society. Lined up with the art nouveau aesthetics, Gallé conciliated his role as artist and industrialist, developing the concept of talking vases (verreries parlantes), in which he mingled a naturalistic visual aesthetics to symbols and poetry verses which emanated strong convictions, in the attempt to make them into message holders. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we present Gallé as a character in the Intellectual History, and analyze a few of his art objects (objets d’art), conceived as a defense of the useful, domestic, beautiful, and truthful art. The study of the artist and his work as visual culture producers, inserted in his network of relations, allows us to conjecture about how technology and science are amalgamated in his work, while forging a proposal for an ideal modernity. The combined analysis of the artists writings and glass pieces allows a double glimpse - aesthetical and intellectual - of his ideas about modern technologies and the elevation of household objects to the category of art.